Midori
Midori is Suntory’s green melon liqueur, 20% ABV on its maker’s site, made, the maker says, from the juices of two Japanese muskmelons. The name means green. In a drink it brings sweet melon and colour in one pour, as in our Tokyo Iced Tea, where 30ml turns a five-spirit highball green.
Quick Facts
Sealed and upright, out of light: the green fades in sun long before the sugar tires.
None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.
About Midori
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Ripe muskmelon and honeydew, sweet and frank: the colour promises novelty and the flavour delivers melon, no apology.
A Japanese melon liqueur named for its colour
Midori is made by Suntory. The producer says it comes from the juices of two Japanese muskmelons, extracted by two methods, and it is bottled at 20% ABV. The drink first went on sale in Japan in 1964 as Hermes Melon Liqueur and took the name Midori, Japanese for green, on its New York launch in 1978.
Sweetness and colour arrive together
One pour does two jobs, which makes Midori unusual among the liqueurs in our recipes. Raise the measure for more melon and the drink turns a deeper green and sweeter at the same time; cut it and both fade together. Plan the citrus around that: the more Midori, the more lemon.
Midori beside the other tropical fruit liqueurs (Midori and Passoã from their makers’ sites; the banana and coconut rows are typical figures for the category, and the jobs are ours)
Midori
- Strength
- 20%
- Flavour from
- Muskmelon juices, by the producer’s account
- Typical job
- Colour and melon in a long drink
Passoã
- Strength
- 17% (its maker’s site)
- Flavour from
- Real passion fruit, by its maker’s site
- Typical job
- Sweetness and scent beside fresh pulp
Banana liqueur
- Strength
- About 20%
- Flavour from
- Fruit, distillate or flavouring, by brand
- Typical job
- 10 to 15ml in rum drinks
Coconut liqueur
- Strength
- About 21%
- Flavour from
- Coconut flavouring on a rum base
- Typical job
- A coconut note in rum and pineapple
| Liqueur | Strength | Flavour from | Typical job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midori | 20% | Muskmelon juices, by the producer’s account | Colour and melon in a long drink |
| Passoã | 17% (its maker’s site) | Real passion fruit, by its maker’s site | Sweetness and scent beside fresh pulp |
| Banana liqueur | About 20% | Fruit, distillate or flavouring, by brand | 10 to 15ml in rum drinks |
| Coconut liqueur | About 21% | Coconut flavouring on a rum base | A coconut note in rum and pineapple |
The other three have pages of their own: passion fruit liqueur, banana liqueur and coconut liqueur.
It gives the Tokyo Iced Tea its green
In our Tokyo Iced Tea, 30ml of Midori goes over ice with a 15ml measure each of four white spirits and triple sec, then 25ml of lemon juice and a short stir before 60ml of lemonade. The melon liqueur sets it apart from other iced teas of that family: it brings the green and most of the fruit.
An opened bottle keeps, but the aroma dulls
In our experience it keeps for years unopened. Opened, the alcohol and sugar keep it safe, but the aroma dulls over time, faster in warmth or bright light, so store it capped, upright and in a cupboard. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, says the bottle was redesigned in 2007 and the sugar reduced by 20 per cent, so a bottle bought before then may taste sweeter than a new one as well as flatter.
Using Midori
Usage
Our Tokyo Iced Tea uses 30ml with four white spirits, triple sec, lemon and lemonade, and the liqueur is both the flavour and the colour. As a rule, 15 to 30ml colours and flavours a long drink; past that, the melon turns syrupy unless the lemon goes up with it.
Pro Tip
Add the citrus before the topper. In our Tokyo Iced Tea the lemon goes in with the spirits and gets a brief stir, so the Midori's sugar and the acid meet before 60ml of lemonade lengthens the drink.
Top Tips
- Keep it capped, standing, in a cupboard. Light and warmth dull a liqueur's colour and aroma over time.
- Balance it with lemon or lime. It is sweet enough at 30ml that the citrus has plenty to balance.
- Measure it. Because it colours as well as flavours, an extra 10ml changes how the drink looks as well as how it tastes.
- Read the strength on the bottle. Our recipe units use 20%, the UK bottling.
Possible Substitutions
- Any melon liqueur: the brand changes, the melon-and-green holds
- Melon syrup plus vodka and a drop of green: the deconstruction, less rounded
Production Method
By its maker’s account, the juices of two Japanese muskmelons, extracted by two methods, carried in sweetened spirit. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, lists the UK bottle as a product of France.
History & Context
Midori’s own history says Suntory brought a melon liqueur to market in Japan in 1964 as Hermes Melon Liqueur, launched it in New York as Midori in 1978, and that the same year The Universe, a cocktail built on it, won first prize at the United States Bartenders’ Guild competition. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, says the bottle was redesigned in 2007 and the sugar content reduced by 20 per cent.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is Midori?
What does Midori mean?
What does Midori taste like?
How strong is Midori?
What cocktails use Midori?
Does Midori go off once opened?
Is Midori made in Japan?
Sources.
Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.
- Midori (Suntory Global Spirits), “Midori: the brand” (producer’s page (20% alc./vol.; two Japanese muskmelons; history from 1964)).
- Difford’s Guide, “Midori Melon Liqueur” (secondary source: Hermes Melon Liqueur in Japan in 1964, Midori by the US launch of 1978; labelled a product of France in the UK; bottle redesigned in 2007 and sugar reduced by 20 per cent; 20%).
- Passoã SAS, “Passoã (German product page)” (the maker’s own figure: “Alkoholgehalt von 17%vol.”).
Made with Midori
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Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026